[3rd POV]
(Documentary : Episode 4)
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[Name : Dr. T. Soma Tonson
Role : Lead researcher]
"Okay, welcome back to the anticipated fourth episode of this documentary. I apologise to everyone for the delay. The documentary did way better than expected, so the studio had to call the researchers again and record new content for more details. This footage, for example, was only taken two days before this episode came out," Dr Tonson said while he sat on his usual seat.
He was sitting in an aesthetically pleasing room, giving off a smart and 90's vibe with its brown and red colour theme. He was sitting in the middle of the room like an old grandfather ready to tell stories.
"The documentary was supposed to have 10 episodes only but due to its immense success, the studio wants to increase the content. At least that's what I think this is about," he said, "Well, I get more pay so it's all good. You can cut that out if you want," he said the last parts towards the camera crew.
But it seems they decided to put it in.
"In the past episodes, we witnessed Leo come into the Serengeti, we watched him grow bigger and stronger and in the previous episode, we watched him defeat the three brothers and rise to become the new king," he said. "This episode will focus on Leo's life as a king."
"But do not be mistaken though. This episode is not a boring one at all. It was during this phase that we finally learned what kind of a lion Leo was and it also broke the impression of a savage lion that we thought he was," he said.
"No. Leo was not who we thought he was. He was not a savage lion that thirsts for blood or kills for sport. He was, in a sense, the most humane among the animals that we know. He was more humane than some humans themselves," he said.
"Kindness. There is a saying that you know the true character of someone when he was given power. Well, Leo earned that power. He became the king of all Serengeti, and he held immense power over the pride. And in this situation, Leo showed his true character. He showed kindness," he said.
And finally, the scene changed to the open savannah once more. Dr Tonson's presence still lingered, and his voice was heard over the different scenes of lions and the open plains of Africa.
"Whenever there is a takeover, meaning a new lion rules over a pride, there is one dark process that we always expect. This is something that almost always happens and even for us as researchers, it's a tough pill to swallow but still part of nature," he said.
The scene showed the lionesses and their cubs. They were playing happily, the cubs were very playful and would sometimes try to climb the mothers. It was a wholesome moment, the kind that would make you go 'aw' without even knowing.
And then, an abrupt cut. A cruel wake-up reality.
The camera focused on one cub in particular, that was once playing around curiously and happily. And then in the next shift of scene, the same cub was hanging in the jaw of a male lion. His head was inside the mouth, his skull completely crushed and his body hung limply. Blood and drool flowed down his body where once joy flowed.
"Infanticide," Dr Tonson said.
"It's part of nature's sickest cycle. When a lion takes over a pride, the first thing he does is kill the cubs of the old lion. If they were too young to defend themselves, they were bound to meet an end," he said.
"Lions do this for two reasons. To cut off any competition before they grow and second, to make sure that their genes get passed on. They need to mate with the females as soon as possible. But since a lioness with a cub wouldn't go into heat, the cubs need to be killed. It's a crueler alternative to raping the lionesses," Dr Tonson said.
"The lionesses could fight back in case of rape, so the lions make the weaker ones victim. That is nature," he said coldly.
The documentary did not hold back with censoring anything. It showed the dark truth as it was. Perhaps too much, because later on, some people went as far as suing the studio for traumatising younger audiences. But that was on the parents, the documentary had clear warnings even in the first episode.
Now the scene cuts back to Leo right after he defeated the kings. He was barely injured but tired. But not enough to make him rest. Leo began making his way towards the pride. The scene cuts again to the cubs of the Mbali brothers.
That camera work was enough to give a clue to the audience what was going to happen next.
"So, when Leo beat the three brothers and took over the kingdom and the pride, all of us researchers knew the ugly thing that was going to take place next," he said.
"The lionesses resisted at first. After all, no mother wanted to lose their child. There were few cases where the mother fought so fiercely that the new king would spare the cubs for a few days or weeks. But if the cub was small, it always ends in their death," he said.
"But we all knew the cubs would die right then and there. Leo was clearly a cut above other lions, he was stronger, smarter. A mother's love will crumble before his strength."
"There was a fight that proved our fears," Dr Tonson said.
The scene showed what happened next. Leo came to the pride and there were a number of lionesses that gathered to fight him. They were standing strong at first, between their cubs and the new king.
But their resistance was futile.
You could tell even from the footage that the lionesses were scared. How could they not be? Just looking at the size difference explained their fear. A lion was already much bigger than a lioness, and Leo was bigger than lions.
He was a whole fucking unit of his own.
The pride and Leo seemed to be in a staredown for a few moments before he turned towards a bush in the distance.
The camera panned towards that bush to show the subadults and the cubs that hid there.
The audience were worried, but they knew from Dr Tonson's words that nothing would happen. But that faith was gone when Leo began charging against the bush.
His charge meant business.
Their faith got lost.
The lionesses, at least some of them, chased after Leo to stop him. But the moment Leo turned back at them the fight seemed to be lost already.
He took out one lioness with one swing, and the rest followed soon after. His sheer violence could not be dealt with by the females.
The camera focused on that small conflict. It should've been at a bigger scale, but due to Leo's dominance, it looked more like a husband abusing his wife. There was no fight, it was never a fight.
It was just Leo doing anything he wanted while proving he was unstoppable.
When the last lioness fell, the worry in the heart of the audience grew to the limit. Leo huffed and headed back to that bush where the cubs hid.
Upon his approach, the few lionesses that were stationed there as guard retreated. They moved back with droopy ears and soft whines.
When Leo reached the cubs, he stood over them. The cubs seemed to not even know the danger they were in as they stayed in place, their small heads looking up at Leo's massive form.
Or perhaps they were frozen in fear, the same emotion the audience shared.
Leo stared at them for a long time before he lowered his muzzle and sniffed them one by one. He seemed like a curious cat getting to know something. His tongue flicked out briefly as he patted the cubs on their heads.
And then, Leo released a soft growl.
That seemed to be some kind of command because only then did the cubs move. They stood up and ran past him and back to their mother. Some even ran under his legs to move away quickly.
But the smaller cubs in particular, ones that were most likely to be killed had Leo been another lion, had difficulty moving. The cubs were too young to coordinate properly. They fell and stumbled more than once.
Leo turned his head and looked at them for a while. Then he moved and helped them get up with a slight push of his muzzle.
The innocent scene was starkly different from what the audience was expecting. They were hoping that Leo killed some but spared the others from Dr Tonson's words. They had no actual faith that he would kill none of them.
But that's what happened.
The male subadults on the other hand were chased out of the pride. That was typical lion behaviour to kick out the older lions. This did not even need explanation as it was already done so in the first episode when they explained Leo had come to the Serengeti after he was kicked out of his own pride.
The scene changed again, this time it seemed a few days had passed. You could see Leo laying a few metres away from the pride. There was still tension as the lionesses were not so quick to accept and completely obey the new king.
But the cubs were not smart like the adults. They came and huddled towards the new king, as if they were completely sure that he wouldn't harm them.
And from the looks of it, Leo had no bad intention. He was not only sparing them but was actually gentle with the cubs. He shook his mane slightly to make the cubs that climbed on his head fall.
And then he lightly licked at the cubs as they rolled around, helplessly trying to get up.
For all its worth, it looked like he was a father lion playing with his own cubs.
"Beneath all that ferocity and savagery, we found a kinder soul. This was our first look at Leo's character and you know what, he was as good as any lion could be," Dr Tonson said.
At that moment, Leo gained many fans. And those who were already hardcore followers of his screamed in joy, knowing that he was as good as they thought he was.
Even the fans of the Mbali brothers had to respect that because god knows the brothers did not have that same kindness when they took over.
Leo was worthy of the iconic admiration that he had. Not just because of his strength, but also his character.
#Leotrueking was a trend immediately after, as people made edits about it.
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Author : Holy shit, I forgot how behind we are with the documentary. I'll try to cover this arc quickly for those who don't like this.
Same goals as usual. 500 stones one chapter.